Cochrane Review shows how a cheaper alternative to licensed drug for treating eye disease has similar side effects

Neovascular macular degeneration is a progressive and chronic disease of the eye, and a leading cause of blindness in older people globally.

About one in 10 people with macular degeneration suffers legal blindness.

In September 2014, a new Cochrane Review, Systemic safety of bevacizumab versus ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, found that the systemic safety of bevacizumab for macular degeneration appears to be similar to that of ranibizumab, except for gastrointestinal disorders.

This Cochrane Review represents an important step forward in the knowledge about differences in systemic harms between these two drugs. Find out more about why, along with one story of how this Cochrane Review has already made a difference: